From Hell to Heaven
by Distant Storm
Summary: Hilary is kidnapped. She thinks no one cares about her. Kai is beside himself, but when he sees her at Biovolt Abbey, face to face, he doesn't recognize her. In the end, will it work out? KaiHil. Slight fluff at the end, very angsty in the beginning.


Disclaimer: I Don't own beyblade.

Author(ess) Notes: I'm really very angry right now, because my stupid ass boyfriend doesn't know why he asked me out in the first place and he broke up with me for stupid reasons(coz he's going to kill me coz I don't know the REAL him). So now I'm gonna take my energy and write a fic. Lucky for you.

However, I've been having a total lack of ability recently, so it's kind of rushed and what-not. I hope you like it, but I had to post something, I promised Jess I would. My inspiration for this was Kelly Clarkson's "My December" Album and Three Days Grace's "One X" Album. Neither of them do I own.

Also(wow, long intro), a big thank you goes out to _Moonlight Serenity_ who dedicated a fic to me. It's a song fic from a Mr. Big song. You should definitely check it, and the rest of her works out. They're wonderful. I know she complains about how horrible of a writer she is, but she's just milking it, since she kicks major ass at writing. Her KaiHil fics are to die for!

Okay, _**NOW**_ I am done. Read on, peoples!

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_**From Hell to Heaven**_

xxxxxxxxxx**(MOSCOW, RUSSIA)**xxxxxxxxxx

She stared at the acursed walls. The room was dark, the walls nothing but stone. She inhaled, exhaled. Her breath was smokey-white as it billowed in the cold breeze. Hate was bred in this place, and she understood why. She hated this place with a passion. The walls, the people, herself... everything in this place she hated.

The only thing she harbored a liking for was beyblading. This was the only thing she could do that brought her to her friends in spirit. They had taught her to beyblade here, to be a tool. Of course, she was beginning to hate her friends too. Had they even thought to come to Russia? Were they looking for her? Probably not. She used to harbor that hope that they were desperately searching. That they would rush in and save the day.

That would never happen. Usually when she thought of that, she would have cried. Would have was key. She no longer cried. It was too cold. While Boris loved to see her frozen tears, she would no longer give him that satisfaction. It was anything but worth it. He seemed to like this rougher, edgier Hilary. She was given anything to change her into a more vicious young woman.

Because of this, her navel held a vicious piercing of dangling aqua colored stones. Her hair had been left to grow, and was dyed nearly black to spare recognition if she was given the privledge to go out for the day. That usually didn't happen, unless Boris had spies or bodyguards around her.

Her eyes held a much more than they used to. They were piercingly ruby colored, but brilliantly clear, as opposed to others. She was not broken, she just hated the world.

She believed Boris liked it better that way. He liked life in his captives. She had always shown him that, and for it, she was the least tortured of all those in the pathetic abbey. Of course, the whip markings on her lower back were just as visible when in the light.

"Tachibana."

Her head moved to the door in strict attention, though a sneer was placed upon her porcelain face. "Yeah?"

Boris Balkov smirked at her, his boots hitting the floor like the beat of a steady drum. It matched her heartbeat. The man did not scare her. Whether she lived or died was in his hands, but she hated him enough that he figured death would be a reward. Therefore she lived. Twistedly enough, she figured she would play that way as long as she could to stay alive.

"You have a challenger."

She licked her lips in anticipation. The adrenaline circulated through her veins as if she was a car hooked up to a nos system. Her heartbeat remained steady as he opened her cage, extending a launcher to her. It was like a gun with a rip cord. She locked her beyblade in it and launched it at the steel cage in the back, one she had dismantled months ago. It shreded the metal as if it were a tattered curtain.

"I suppose it will do," she said unimpressed.

He looked down at her, inwardly jubulant at her attitude. She was best like this. Nothing was good enough for her, and obviously her attitude fit that of a real beyblader. He would keep her around forever, if she was like this. Hilary had been quite the catch, even if she was meant to be just a prisoner until the B.B.A. caught on. Unfortunately, no one would recognize her now unless they were looking at her directly, and that would never happen.

"Good. One of our new recruits is in need of seeing how to fight."

"Who am I fighting?" She snarled. "Do you want me to _kill_ a prospect of yours?" She said 'kill' with such intensity that the man smiled.

"Now, now, I would never make you fight beneath your level. He will be a spectator. I've brought you a treat," he said as if she were about to receive candy.

Huffing, she blew an overgrown bang away from her face and looked up. "Don't dick around with me, Boris, who'd you get?"

"Do you remember Johnny? The-"

"The Russian prick from the Majestics? Come on, Boris, I could cream him."

He laughed. "Yes, and it will mean so much more when you learn of the difficulty Kai had with him."

Her eyes narrowed when he mentioned Kai. Of all those she hated, she hated him the most. He knew the most about this fucking place, yet he had made no attempt to find her here, amongst a multitude of boys who eyed her like meat. He'd hate her for who she has become, and she would laugh because it was all his fault for not using his head.

He led her to the battle arena she had seen hundreds of times over. Boris gave her a cruel smile. She knew what that meant. Destroy his beyblade. Take his bit beast. Again, hundreds of times over. This was no longer Dé Ja Vu. This was her life, and what had become of it.

Johnny looked at her with blazing majogany eyes. He was royally pissed off, and his opponent was some _girl_. What good would that do old Boris? A girl. Bah.

"Well now," The boy said, as cocky as ever, "Looks like the little girl's looking to get knocked off. Do you know what happens when you lose?"

She laughed. "I do, but when you lose, you'll be sad enough to learn the consequences are more dire than you expect."

"I'm not afraid of death," he said placidly. "Are you?"

"The part of me you once knew died a long time ago."

He stumbled. "I knew you?"

She smirked. "Too bad," she said signaling to a mean-looking officiator.

The officiator counted them down in a ruthless tone. The battle started and ended quickly. Her beyblade, complete with a vicious snow leapard launched itself at him, its claws tearing into the very being of the beyblade, as well as Johnny. It was nothing fatal, so the boy should have stopped complaining about bleeding.

His counter attacks just seemed far too slow and not good enough. She finished it off with an icy cyclone that destroyed his beyblade. His flying bit-beast, the name of which Hilary had no chance to hear in the speed of her victory, ended up absorbed into her metallic beyblade.

"You- you're a monster, " he stuttered, between the loss of blood and shock. He had been knocked to the floor, unable to return to his feet.

Boris smirked maliciously. "Leave him in the snow to die."

Two nasty looking guards picked his bleeding figure up and threw it outside, slamming the doors behind them. Boris approached her and the smoking beyblade in her hands.

"Tialga is very fiesty today," Hilary said simply. "She didn't even want to toy with her prey," she concluded in a snotty tone.

Boris put an arm around her. "We'll have to take your beyblade." No cyber enhancements were made to the rugged creature, who responded with a natural display of cunning and hunting talent. Instead, the obtained bit beast was to be removed from her beyblade for usage in a cyber project. Their agreement stood at the fact that Hilary was not to be subjected to the Cyber Projects, so long as she gathered bit beasts.

Through his goggles, he nodded and watched her lean body follow along next to him. He knew what she wanted to do. She had done her job, so now she wanted to go enjoy the life that Moscow offered its citizens.

"What today?" He asked her. Though guards followed her everywhere, he'd rather catch her for lying.

She shrugged, pulling down the back of her shirt for a moment. "Possibly a tattoo, assuming that's alright with you, almighty one."

"A tramp stamp?" He asked her, giving her a once-over. She, one of few, did not squirm as he took in her entire body. She hated that to him she was pretty much a piece of meat. "I like those," he said huskily.

Rolling her eyes, she looked at him. He was a disgusting perverted old man, but he was still in charge of her life. "No, on the top of my back."

"What are you getting?"

"A moon, possibly something else too."

"I expect to see them when you return."

xxxxxxxxxx**(BAKUTEN, JAPAN)**xxxxxxxxxx

He had yet to sleep. It had been forever since he had slept through the night or taken a nap during the day. He was always out, always searching.

She had just disappeared without a trace, and he had no freakin' idea where in the world she could be. Her mother said that she probably ran away, and that she had not been taken. Her own mother wasn't even worried! And after how proper Hilary was, that scared him. Still, the sneaking suspicion that she had been taken was there, as was the constant reminder that search parties were no longer out there. That pissed him off too. If she wasn't kidnapped, someone would have found her by now!

Was she dead? He didn't know. And it was killing him. Literally. Never before had someone's leaving create such a gaping hole in him that it could be the equivalent of having major organs ripped out. Breathing sometimes seemed like a chore. He would spend his day rushing through the city. He would check all of it, starting at different points throughout the day. There were plenty of groups in Bakuten who would want that girl, for money, for her ability to coach, for just being a seventeen-year-old girl with a good body.

Kai reminded himself never to say that aloud. Though she would be nineteen soon. She had disappeared when she was barely seventeen, and her nineteenth birthday had come and gone. It was now November, and next month was December, meaning Christmas. How he had come to memorizing a birthday that once seemed trivial was beyond him.

Some said he was love sick, and to be honest, he was pretty sure that was not it. Hilary kept him sane enough to handle his team mates. She was just able to keep him calm, something most others lacked to do. She was just her own little quirky self, and he liked that she was never obsessed with his every movement.

Ray put it in the best words. "You just don't know why, but she's a part of you." The boy smiled knowingly, not mentioning words like love, hope, or faith. He just said it the way Kai would understand it. Other than Hilary, Ray was the only one he could tolerate most of the time.

His amethyst-grey eyes scanned the beach. God, he thought, why the fuck couldn't she just show up from behind a tree and just be back? He threw a rock at the water, not bothering to skip it as he usually would. She was making him really pissed off. Strangely enough, he didn't blame himself as he usually would. This was not his fault. At least, he prayed to whatever powers that be it was not.

He did not think she intended to leave, therefore, they had to keep looking for her. He would look until the day he died. Something told him she was either here or gone, but she was not here. He was almost positive. Even if she was alive(he refused to think of the alternitive), where would she go? In the United States, she would be recognized. Europeans were obsessed with the Majestics and they were friends enough that she would eventually get recognized.

His phone rang. He felt a slight change in his heartbeat and flipped it open quickly, recognizing the speaker to be Stanley Dickenson.

_"Kai, I know this isn't a great time, but you and your friends are needed in Moscow. There's been a lot of problems."_

He scoffed. There were more important problems here! Licking his lips, he spoke clearly, as if the man was stupid. "I don't think that the problems in Russia are anything compared to what my friends and I are trying to deal with here. What is so important that Russia _needs_ us anyway?"

He heard shuffling on the other end and a nervous sigh. _"We've scowered the globe for her, Kai, we have to think of the rest of the world too. Johnny of The Majestics was found in the snow outside of the BioVolt Abbey. He's barely awake, but someone stole his bitbeast, and he was inside the abbey. We have to fix this."_

"My grandfather and Boris will never learn, will they?" He said in a sigh. He hated those two. Voltaire Hiwatari was related by blood, but his friends were his true family. And that was all he would need. Except for to find Hilary. Hell, the girl was the reason he had taken up praying, something he had fallen out with during his childhood, for obvious reasons.

_"I'm sorry, Kai, I know you are all different now, but Johnny needs someone to come and try and figure things out. You're the one who knows that place best. Perhaps you and your friends need something like this to occupy yourselves from-"_

Kai swallowed. "We're going to go to Russia. Are you happy?"

_"Your team mates have already agreed, the flight leaves in the morning, the tickets will be there by early afternoon. Someone will be on the lookout at all times while you are gone, I promise."_

xxxxxxxxxx**(MOSCOW, RUSSIA)**xxxxxxxxxx

She stomped into the compound, wiping off the slush that had stuck to her black boots. There were gauze pads on her back, as well as a set of piercings on her ears that had never been there before. The male population immediately gathered to watch her remove her sweater and divulge to them the contents of the body art, yet she sidestepped them all swiftly, trouncing to Boris's office as if she owned the place.

"We have a problem," she said angrily.

Boris looked up at her, furious. "And what would that be? Perhaps you should feel the whip for your unexpected visit to my office while lacking proper protocol to knock first!"

Hilary sneered, rolling her eyes. That did not scare her. "I thought I would tell you," she said viciously, "That your guards suck. Someone saw Johnny in the snow and took him to a hospital."

"Who told you?"

She shrugged. "Tattoo artist had the television on." She had quickly picked up Russian. "I assume that, judging by the B.B.A.'s news broadcast on every fucking channel-" Boris slammed his fists on the table and growled "-He must have blabbed. I'm sure my asshole ex-team mates will be appearing shortly."

He nodded, looking up at her. Her eyes were void of any emotion save rage and anger, and he smirked. "You'd like to take revenge on them, wouldn't you? For not looking for you like they should have, if they were real friends."

Laughing sinisterly, Hilary smirked. "I would love to give them a piece of my mind. But better than that, a piece of them, their bit beasts, is available for the taking."

Boris smirked, joining her in laughter. "You were a wise catch, darling." He gave her a once over. "Anyone recognize you?"

"Nah, The tattoo artist said something, and I told him if I was going to try and steal bit beasts, I wouldn't have come out on the streets." She smirked and kicked back in a leather chair. "I think we're good."

"I'm surprised you aren't planning to revolt against me," He mentioned casually. "Yet you know the penalty for that."

She laughed bitterly. "If you truly wanted me dead, it would have happened already. And why would I be the rebel? If they don't recognize me, I'll just get killed anyway. Besides, they don't care about me, you've said it yourself, Balkov. They can go to hell and rot there, for all I care."

Standing, she turned and walked casually to the doorway, her lean eighteen-year-old body resting against it before she spoke again. "Perhaps you should capture them. I'd love to see Kai's reaction to fighting the pitiful little cheerleader." With that, she left, her curvacious figure pleasing to the disgusting old man.

Haulting before she left hearing range, Hilary heard him call for guards to obtain Voltaire's ever elusive grandson, Kai. Smirking, she knew she would destroy him. He hadn't thought of this location, and therefore, as she had mentioned before, it was all his fault.

xxxxxxxxxx

Oh God, did his head hurt. He felt blood trickle from his forehead down his face in multiple locations. His team mates would realize that he had been captured and would probably walk into some kind of trap. They were dumb enough, now even more than usual, and would end up dead. Or worse, bit beast-less. It would kill them all.

He realized now, that Dranzer lay strewn before him. The blade was in-tact, though the dark color- any color, in fact, hurt his eyes. He realized that he probably had a pretty black eye, and the other one was hazy thanks to the beating. He wondered if he had suffered a concussion, though it would be nothing unusual. He knew he was at the abbey.

Everything was so fuckin' familiar, and he hated it all. He felt the ground around him. Most of it was bloody and horribly disgusting. He loved to bathe in his own blood. He spat at the floor, but realized how dry his mouth was. Groaning, he pushed himself to his knees to look outside of his cage. It was obvious that the one next to him had taken quite a beating, perhaps there had been a real brawl in there. Either way, there weren't many others in the room.

He dropped back to the ground, cursing his head and his shaking body. He had obviously lost far too much blood. Or something like that, he registered, as he succumbed to the darkness of his mind.

Meanwhile, in the cell over five to his right and across the way, a young woman watched him with intense eyes. She waited for him to move, but when he mad none, she easily shoved open the door and walked down the hall, passing many blank eyes. She took the keys Boris had given her and hoisted Kai up over her shoulder.

It made her laugh. Kai was supposed to be the almighty strong one. Apparently she had gotten stronger. Then again, it was required of her to bench more than one hundred twenty pounds. She was capable of lifting more than she weighed, coming in at around the minimum amount she was required to bench-press, and seeing as though she was carrying Kai, who had to be around thirty pounds more than she.

No sympathy passed through her features, nor her eyes. He was an imbicile. Why would he come to Russia and let himself be taken? She shoved this thought away as she approached the new room she had been given as of late. Apparently her words and information had struck gold for her. She now had a hotel-styled suite, complete with a television and other luxuries she hadn't seen in forever.

Sadly enough, she had just learned the date for the first time in months, and she had been captive for well beyond two years, meaning she was actually nineteen, instead of eighteen like she had thought. It made her feel invigorated that she had survived this long. The tortures were unbearable at times, but it was like running a marathon. No brick wall would stop her.

She threw Kai upon the cot provided by Boris. He made a small 'oof,' but was obviously unconscious. Turning, she cursed at the blood that had been strewn upon her white sweater. She immediately removed it, soaking it in the water of the attached bathroom.

When she emerged, she held a first aid kit, and was dressed in clothes not suited for her environment. It was barely fifty-five degrees farenheit in that room, and she was dressed in a tank top to reveal the snow-leopard bit beast concealed in her beyblade upon her back in front of a full moon. It looked realistic, as if it were about to pounce.

She would never forget her starting point, her mind told her. She sighed, and look another look at Kai, pushing down the tendrils of thought that provoked emotion. Boris would be watching and that was a bad thing. Her aquamarine earings matched the protruding dangler of her navel.

Stalking over to him caused an overflow of memories. She paused, collected herself, then placed the kit upon her bed and set to work on cleaning his destroyed ass up. After all, she couldn't take him on unless he was fit to fight. A tantalizing smile found its way to her bubble gum lips. She looked forward to that day like no other.

To be honest though, she didn't know if her heart or her bit beast would let her take either of his. The feelings in her head were miniscule, but it only took one tendril of thought to corrupt, as she had learned from her captors.

xxxxxxxxxx

Halfway what he assumed was the night, Kai Hiwatari shot upward, covered in a cold sweat. What the fuck had happened? He was not in this place when he had last passed out. He looked around, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness quicker.

"Well, well," Hilary said, from her position atop the covers of her bed. "What's kickin', Hiwatari?" Her voice, even though she knew she was the _evil_ one, sounded more vicious than possible. She had no idea she could talk to him like that.

He growled at her obvious attitude. "Who are you?"

"I'm the one in charge of you."

He said nothing, but glared at her as if she were Voltaire. He swore he saw something in her eyes, something familiar. They were the same hue as his Hilary's(since when had Hilary become his? He was still not sure) and yet they lacked the twinkle that the missing girl's eyes held.

When he began to fidget, she laughed. "If you're looking for your beyblade, it's on the edge of the nightstand by your head." He recovered it quickly, holding it tight. She smirked. "How'd they get you?"

He sneered. "What? Weren't you there?" He asked, using his elbows to allow himself to lean back comfortably.

She nodded. "I suppose I'm not exactly... _trusted_ with those matters. People would recognize me," she finished casually, before thinking a moment. She then added, "Assuming you get out of here alive like you usually do, tell Johnny I'm sorry I had to destroy him. It's either him or me, and he got lucky that someone found him." Her eyes shut again.

A low growl was emitted from the back of his throat. "_You_." He said angrily. "How dare you." She swung herself off the bed, her nearly black, and hardly natural hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"Yeah," she said in an unamused tone, "Me. Got a problem? I fuckin' put your sorry ass back together, so shut the fuck up and we'll battle soon, kay?"

Receiving no response, she went into the bathroom portion and shut the door, proceeding to run a hot shower. Moments later, she returned, wearing a black tank and warm workout pants. A windbreaker was strewn across her arm, but she threw it on her bed.

"Why do you get to battle me?" He asked when she returned.

"Simple," she said, leaning back into the bed. She looked exhausted, as if she were about to go to sleep. "I battle you because you know me. And because you fucked up somewhere when you stopped exploring your options." With that, she rolled over onto her stomach and bid him goodnight.

He smirked. "Are you that stupid to leave me in here awake with you asleep?"

"Well, there's two nasty-looking guards outside the door, and they both can see inside via camera, so even if you try and kill me- which you won't, because I don't exactly sleep like a rock so I'll hear you if you get within a meter of me- they'll burst in and shoot your ass. Now get some sleep." She snarled the last statement. "You've got quite a day coming up, Kai."

He settled down almost instantly, retreating beneath the blankets of the cot. She stared at the back of his head, realizing furiously that she would not be able to sleep. Why? Because that stupid weak Hilary that she had locked away to survive this hell still felt something for him. Damn that stupid thought.

Tomorrow, she figured, she'd finish his ass for good and be through with it. Whether he had Dranzer at the end or not, was just going to be luck.

xxxxxxxxxx

He stood across from her in the bey-stadium, watching her. So many thoughts were running through his mind. He wanted neither of them to be hurt, yet he knew it could not be helped. Damn his friends for making him soft. Damn Hilary for making him so succeptable to emotions. Someone would be hurt, and he would not lose. He would avenge Johnny.

She stared into his eyes, before adverting hers down to her beyblade. She took a deep breath, closing them before letting thoughts run through her mind. Everything she knew about Kai's style ran through her mind. She had been taught so much by Boris, how to defend against his style, how to launch effective attacks. He seemed unphased, determined. He had no idea as to her identity. Perhaps it was for the better. Would he really have fought her if he found out?

Her eyes narrowed. No. He wouldn't because he thought she was weak.

Her mind began to wonder, then the goodness of Kai began to edge into her mind. That was bad, she realized. Her anger was the key to this victory, and she was sure she'd feel it soon enough. He thought she was weak, he thought she was weak... She chanted this over and over as adrenaline began to kick in. "I hope to God, before this is over, you figure out who the hell you're fighting."

Boris growled. "That's enough, girl. Don't be giving him hints."

She smirked at him and Kai saw something in her eyes: disobedience. She was a rebel. She was not tied down like others.

His eyes sparked in sincere clarity as he tried to figure out what to say. "Why would you choose to do this?"

"I may be in control of my head, Hiwatari, unlike you were," He growled defensively, his mind reeling over his horrifying experiences, "but I am still bound to this place unless I wish to die a gruesome death."

"Stop this," Boris yelled, and an officiator immediately stepped down to the arena. He was bulky and would immediately step in if something got out of hand, which both of them figured would happen.

Of course, it would have been great if the intruder sirens hadn't gone off first.

Kai immediately knew who it was and launched Dranzer, trying to increase the chaos. In the process, he nailed his would-be opponent, who had not launched her beyblade in defense. It cut clear across her stomach, making her scream out in anguish.

She wasted no time in launching her beyblade, only to have it land up in the lighting, sending sparks everywhere. She honestly had no idea why she was doing it. Probably it was Tialga, acting on the true intentions of her heart. Somewhere inside her, she registered that she wanted him to get away. So she wasn't as evil as she thought.

There's a new one, she thought twistedly. So she'd help his ass and probably die. Wonderful.

The rest of her cursed that tendril of thought. She was supposed to be getting revenge! They left her here to die! She had been gone for more than a year and no one had thought to search for her here. This was the worst place in the world to be!

Still, she knew, when she looked at him, that she would not harm him. She would not side with his horrific past because she still owed him, as a captain, and as a member of their team. They had promised. Even if she hated him, she hated Boris more. She had potential to do something. Why the hell wasn't she doing it yet?

"Tialga!" She screamed, her right hand raised upward while her left covered her bleeding stomach. "Destroy this place!"

The bit beast leapt into action, a malicious smile on her face. Hilary felt the pride of her bit beast surge through her system. Tialga had chosen her for a reason. She was proud of her master, and Hilary felt it. Now she got to be the bad-ass on the good side. It would be a refreshing change of pace.

As Boris yelled in rage at her for her disobedience, and Kai threw his head over his shoulder as he rushed toward the nearest site of chaos to find his escape. She swore his eyes asked her what the hell she was doing, and she simply smiled, aware that her punishment for this would be worse than any and all other torture she had suffered at Boris's hands. Combined, probably.

And strangely enough, she felt as though it was finally worth it. The chaos felt inviting, even if she wouldn't be going with them. Once she had Boris and his guard cowering from her over-excited bit beast, she took off in Kai's direction. The laberynth was constantly rearranged, so he would need help if he wanted to get to them.

He nearly punched her in the face when she grabbed his shoulder. "I'll get you to them," she said breathing heavily.

It surprised her that he stopped her, gazing into her eyes with those intruding ones of his own. "Who are you?"

She shook her head. "Just trust me. I'll get you and your friends out of here." She winked. "Then I'll destroy this place."

They continued on, allowing her to lead the way, Dranzer's beyblade following on the ground before them. She'd command him on directions, but spared the small-talk she used to love. Remorse, a long since locked up emotion felt its way into her viewing plain. Kai would be destroyed if he knew it was her, wouldn't he?

Damn it, she thought, why couldn't I feel emotions later? This was not the time to dwell on feelings. Actions needed to be taken.

Well, it couldn't hurt to find out, she reasoned. They would be running for a while. "Whatever happened to that Tachibana girl?" She asked, her voice automatically rough and edgy. She was grateful for that disguise, since he would try to take her with him once he found out. She wanted him to _want _to find her. If not, she'd rather die where she was.

Her mother wasn't the caring type, so someone else had to want her around before she'd come back. Somewhere inside her, she realized that she wanted a fairy tale rescue. That would never come true, but it was nice to dream for a change.

Even if solitude was much more inviting by the second.

"We don't know," he said, after a series of left, then right, then right again commands.

She nodded. "Have you tried looking?" She sneered.

"No, she was a member of our team," he said sarcastically. Becoming serious, he looked at her. "Every fucking day. No one else believes she's alive."

Hilary smirked, though her mind was reeling. He was the only one who looked? The rest of them had given up? She couldn't cry, though she felt like she wanted to. Someone had looked for her...

She stopped herself before she nearly unveiled her secret. Part of her wished to scream, _'Why didn't you look right here? I'm right fucking here! I've been right fucking here all along!' _However, she knew that this was not the time. The entire place was being obliterated, and judging by the overhead commands - many were dedicated to her punishment once this mess was settled - she was doomed, and the east wing was being the worst damaged, and the sounds were getting closer. She heard beyblades spinning rapidly.

"Why the change of heart?" He asked her.

She listened carefully before responding. "I owe my team more than I realized. Boris couldn't break me, thanks to them." Even if she had hated them, she knew their attitudes and experiences had better prepared her for that life than anything else could.

She recognized each spin, since it had the pattern of the beyblader. She easily heard Ray's and Tyson's, as her training had extended to the sharpening of her senses.

Kai looked at her as though she were more insane than she was already. She smirked at him, bringing her fingers to her lips. She whistled a low pitch, and without hesitation, he heard a roar and the sound of a bounding creature. The snow leopard she had summoned previously lept to her side, only to see her point toward the stone wall. "Destroy it," she said simply.

The leopard wasted no time, it merely roared again, then plummeted toward the wall, surrounding itself with a halo of icy wind. The wall, which had been frozen first, crumbled.

They heard yelling on the other side, and then Tyson and Ray's faces appeared first, following the rest of the team's.

"Kai!" Tyson screamed, rushing to tackle him. "Dude! We thought you were toast!"

The captain shook his head. "I had some surprising help."

"I don't see anything," Tyson said, looking in the direction that Kai had come.

Ray grunted, greeting his friend with a nod. "I saw someone go that way," he pointed in the direction Kai was going. "They looked like they were crying."

Daichi laughed. "Crying? Everyone in here's too mean to cry."

"I don't know," Max said carefully. "She looked like she was crying."

Kai's eyes widened. It couldn't be... nah. She would have said so. Hilary always spoke out.

xxxxxxxxxx

She rushed to the remains of her quarters, cursing herself for her tears. She hadn't cried in well over a year, so why start now? The salty tears ran down her already dirty face as she ran for her bed, tearing off the mattress. Beneath was a stack of money she had earned, enough to get her away from Russia. Along with it was a fake passport Boris did not know about, and she took that as well.

Perhaps the reason for her tears was the look on his face. He had smiled when he saw them. They were their own little happy family. And while he still looked for her, she felt a pang of jealousy. They would never want her back for what she had done. They always forgave, but come on. Everything had its limits. Although, her helping them may have been the first start.

There was a chance she could persuade them.

She took off in the direction of her captor's office. She had to get those Goddamn bit beasts back if it killed her. For them, and for all those stupid kids that lost to her. She owed them that much. It would take a monster to fight Boris, and a monster was what she had become.

Perhaps doing this could be her antidote.

xxxxxxxxxx**(BAKUTEN, JAPAN)**xxxxxxxxxx

It took a hell of a lot out of her. She had yet to sleep in three days, and she was sure she looked like death warmed over. Medical attention would be lovely, but she had a mission to fullfill before she could receive it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her unneeded coat used to disguise the dirt and blood that coated her beneath it.

The secretary eyed her wearily. Hilary smiled as best she could, though her new attitude didn't allow for much. "I need to see Mr. Dickenson," she said evenly.

The girl looked at Hilary with a bored expression. "I suppose I'll take it. Got any weapons on you?"

She shook her head. Her beyblade was in her pocket, but her launcher had long since been destroyed. The bag on her back was the reason she was there and it was filled with one type of item: bit chips. "No," she said carefully.

"Alright. Go up to the twenty-eigth floor."

Hilary took off, noticing how much tolerance she had built up to pain. She used to complain about a cramp, but now, she was about two steps away from a coma and was walking around like a normal person. Strange how Boris does things to a person. It's like he teaches you life skills you would never need unless you were taught them. She wasn't sure that made sense, but in her mind, it was completely legitimate.

The elevator ride was a painfully slow one, with the husltle and bustle of people getting on and off. Some ten minutes later, she arrived on the floor she wished to be on, stepping out with a powerful stride she had recently accumulated. She knew it was Christmastime by now, and that people were in a joyous mood, but she was obviously anything but. The bags beneath her eyes were horrible, and her pale skin was practically transluscent. She had yet to eat anything, she noticed, and she was probably dehydrated. Her money deteriorated fast once she bought the plane ticket to Japan.

She walked to the B.B.A. President's door and knocked twice, quickly. "Come in," he said kindly, and she felt the guilt of being gone rise up to her eyes in tears. She had mastered them, quickly settling herself with a deep breath.

She entered. The old man gasped at her. By the fright in his eyes, he did not recognize her. She held up both hands, setting her beyblade by the door, on a coffee table used mostly for decoration. "I'm not an enemy," she said softly, showing him her palms. "I swear."

He gave her a complete glare, as if she were a demon. She personally felt that the term 'monster' applied, but that was a different story. "You match the description of the person who fought Johnny. I could have you arrested right now for grand theft, despite what my team says."

She nodded. "And I wouldn't blame you." She took a seat in front of him at his indication, and drew the bag from her back into her lap. "I came to seek forgiveness for my actions. If I had not done what I had did, I would have died two years ago when I was forced into it."

"Most Biovolt Soldiers are trained from childhood, Miss." He bothered not to ask for a name. "I don't think that is believable."

Hilary opened the bag, drawing out a book, only to hand it to him. "Many of those I have taken bit beasts from have gotten away. They are scared into submission by Boris to never speak a word. The others, ones like Johnny, are left out in the snow to freeze. Many of these people are able to get to the street, and eventually someone will get them help."

"I'm sure you're not here only to tell me this. What is the book for?"

She smiled. "A record of every person Boris's soldiers has ever taken a bit beast from. I stole it when your team B.B.A. was at the Abbey to recover Kai. There is photo ID, but I cannot say that all of them are up to date."

"And how will this help me?"

She stood up shakily, using one hand to put the massive bag on his desk. "You would probably like to know who these bit beasts belong to, no?"

He opened the bag, staring at the bit chips. Johnny's was atop the pile and Mr. Dickenson soon realized that these were all real. "How did you-"

"Your team created quite a distraction, as did my bit beast, who defended them. I'm sure they told you about the snow leopard who blocked Boris from following them, did you not?"

"I've heard it, but it is hard to believe that you are on our side. Considering this, however, I'd have to thank you immensely for all you have done. It will make many beybladers very happy."

Hilary sat back down. "Are they still in Russia?"

The B.B.A.'s CEO nodded. "They will be here until Sunday afternoon. May I ask why?"

"What day is it?" She asked, in the Russian they had been using from the start.

He eyed her. "It is a Monday evening, why?"

"I need to get myself fixed up before they get back," she said gently. She stood up again, lifting up her coat to reveal her destroyed stomach and miscellaneous cuts. "Not to mention, I'd like my natural hair color back please. I haven't seen my family and friends in years."

"Your family?"

"Yeah."

"Do they live in this town?"

"I hope to God you're getting where I'm going with this," she said wearily. "Did your little team tell you my reasons for helping them?"

"They said you owed_ your _team."

"And I repayed that debt." She quickly switched to Japanese. "I suppose that Kai's got a point. No matter what hell you go through, you're always pulled back to the B.B.A."

Mr. Dickenson's mouth dropped. He could almost see it. Her eyes. They held a renewed spark that was not there a minute ago. "Hilary?" He asked her. "Is that- Oh my God..."

"Yeah," she said sweetly, though not as sweet as she used to be. She would never be that cheerful again, though she would probably get damn close to it. He stood up and rushed to hug her. She felt tears again, but figured it was good to leave them be. She knew she tensed up when he touched her, but he almost expected that. She was a Biovolt Soldier.

That never stopped him, though. "I'm so glad you're safe," he said, and she immediately knew he was crying too.

She smiled as he held her at arms' length. She noted the pain in his eyes at her worn state, but the excitement that danced in them, the happiness she brought him, it was so... new. She felt happy. She felt good. "It's great to be home," she said, hugging him again.

"We have a lot of work cut out for us," he said after a moment. "Why didn't you tell your friends?"

"They wouldn't have let me get the bit beasts. Not to mention they would never have believed me. I've become a beyblader, in the worst circumstances, of course. I love it though."

"I'll have the best technicians build you a blade. But first, I'm taking you to the hospital to see if they can't do something about you. You look like hell." The man did not swear much, but when he did, he obviously meant what he said.

"I was going for death warmed over, but hell works," she said, allowing the man to help her leave his office. All this excitement was definitely draining her.

xxxxxxxxxx

It was now Friday. Hilary had been home for just short of four days, and had recovered surprisingly fast. The mark on her stomach was nearly gone, leaving no scar, much to her surprise. After all, the time that she had spent coming to Japan had allowed it to set and heal. She was allowed to leave the hospital Thursday morning, and had spent the day using the B.B.A.'s money to buy an entirely new wardrobe and get her hair fixed.

To her own surprise, she had chosen to stick with the length, but had styled her bangs as she used to. Thursday she had her hair stripped of the dyes used on it for two years, and this past morning had been spent re-dying it her natural color, just to get her hair back into the swing of things.

Her mother was surprised that she came home, although she had admitted that she hadn't worried much. Hilary was a big girl who could take care of herself. That disappointed her, but her new attitude and her Mother obviously didn't get along too well, and her mother had already abandoned her for the holidays, going to stay in the United States with her new boyfriend.

That didn't phase her too much, because Mr. Dickenson had done nothing but rant and rave about how excited the world would be to have their Hilary back. It made her feel good, though she felt a touch like Kai on the outside. She knew she was no longer that innocent little girl. She had nearly killed people, and the weight of their deaths - despite the fact that Boris was the one to seal the deal - was heavy upon her conscious.

Now, almost desperately, she wished to speak with Kai. Kai would help her through all of it, though the excitement of seeing her friends outweighed much of her saddeness. And when she said seeing her friends, she meant having them see her as Hilary, not as that girl who nearly killed Johnny.

She was told Johnny was coming with the Bladebreakers, who would meet The Majestics at the airport to spend the holidays in Bakuten.

However, she had other things to do on this day. She had baked cookies this after returning from the hair salon. That would be her gift to the people she would visit today, aside from something she had worked on while in the hospital. That would be their surprise when they returned to the B.B.A. Sunday, Christmas Eve.

Mr. Dickenson had informed her that on Christmas Eve night there would be a Holiday Press Conference. The complete G-Revolutions team would make an appearance, though it would be mostly about her. She felt so grown up now that it scared her. Her long brunette hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her bangs hung around as they did before. She looked so much older, not to mention that she had toned muscles that scared the shit out of her. She never really paid attention to them before, and suddenly, there they were.

When she looked at the clock, she collected the box of cookies for those she was about to drop in on, and headed for the door, choosing a lighter fall jacket despite the cold weather. She was so used to it now, that the temperature of thirty farenheit no longer bothered her.

Her mind wandered to how she would be received. She prayed it would be a good exerience.

The short walk seemed to be over before it began. She walked quietly through the snow, sliding the outer shoji door open. It made no noise and she headed toward the inner one, that allowed her to enter the kitchen. This all felt familiar, it felt right. She knew she belonged there.

Kicking off her shoes, she heard a noise. The shoji before her slid open, and out came Tyson's grandfather, complete with his kendo outfit and gear, ready to go on the attack.

"Yo, what's with the intruders, Hiro-dude? Take that!" He went to wave the stick over his head and frighten her away, but instead, she did exactly what she used to, though she forgot how strong she was. She grabbed the stick between her palms and ripped it from his grip.

Hiro and Gramps stared at her with a bit of fright in their eyes. She rolled her own like a child would and smiled at them. "God, I know it's been a while, but don't you remember your own homies, Mr. Granger?"

The man's mouth dropped. "One of my homies?"

"I believe I was your Home Girl, to be exact," she said, beaming at him.

Hiro tried to speak. "You- you- you're H-"

"Wow, people in this town need to learn how to speak," she said sarcastically. "It's me, Hilary!"

Hiro bolted past his grandfather, who was not far behind in smothering her in affectionate hugs.

"Hey now," she said after squeezing them back, "don't ruin the cookies!"

They invited her in instantly. "Home Girl," Grandpa said softly, "T-Dawg isn't here, you do know that, right?"

She nodded gently, looking at the two over her coffee. They were still in shock, and she decided to go for the edited version. "Boris kidnapped me," she said, noting the raging look pass through both their faces. Hiro was still angry at the man for his tricks, and for his own stupidity, and Tyson's grandfather was close enough with Mr. Dickenson to dislike the man with a sincere passion. "I've been in Russia for the past two years, and when Kai got taken when they went to see Johnny, I kinda helped them out."

"Well Hilary, we always knew you were a good person, he didn't change you much," Hiro said to her.

She stared at him. "Didn't change me much?" She laughed. "I was the one who put Johnny in the hospital." The horror that set into their features was typical. She expected that. "I nearly had to fight Kai, and I would've if it wasn't for the rest of the guys."

"Would you have taken' the Sour-Dude's bit beast?" Gramps asked her.

She sighed. "I don't know, Grandpa. I was really angry at him. He didn't even think to look at one of the most obvious places. I was mad at everyone, but I guess being a team comes before my anger. So I just kinda went with the flow. Boris wanted to kill me, and he would have, if it wasn't for this."

She pulled a metallic silver beyblade from her pocket, complete with three ruby claw marks running across it. The snow leaopard in the middle matched the one tattooed upon her back. However, that body art would not be divulged until a later date. The two men gasped at it's rugged, yet mystical appearance.

"This," she said, laying the blade out before them, "is Tialga. My bit beast."

"You can really beyblade?"

She nodded. "Mr. Dickenson spent the time I was in the hospital when I got back to run tests on it. I have to go in tomorrow morning to go through tests of stamina and stuff like that. He wants me to compete. Can you believe it?" Her happiness was radiant and it spread to the two men.

"Want me to drive you?" Hiro asked. "I have to work tomorrow morning anyway."

She nodded, knowing he just wanted an excuse to size her up for the next tournament. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that he had to see it to believe it. He was a guy, after all.

xxxxxxxxxx**(STILL BAKUTEN, JAPAN: CHRISTMAS EVE)**xxxxxxxxxx

For sake of their stability, Mr. Dickenson and Grandpa Granger had decided to go pick up the boys from the airport alone, leaving Hilary and Hiro at the B.B.A. headquarters. When they returned, Hilary was emerge when Mr. Dickenson unveiled their first Christmas present from Hilary, which would lead into the second present: the giver of the gifts' identity and the returning of Johnny's bit beast. The two elders tried hard to hide their excitement, and for what showed, it would be blamed on the holidays.

Lucky enough for them, the two teams that met them at the airport were so used to flights(save little Daichi), that it did not phase them that there was a time difference.

The weather outside was wonderful. There was snow on the streets, and there were people rushing everywhere. This was the wonderous time of the year that most people loved. However, the boys that arrived did not seem so excited. There was a certain amount of heaviness, combined from the loss of Johnny's bit beast, and the still missing(coughnotanymorecough) Hilary.

Mr. Dickenson greeted the Majestics quickly, trying to keep them all generally upbeat. The original Bladebreakers flocked to Gramps, who greeted his 'homies' with an excited holiday-related attitude. They tried their best to cheer up a bit, just since the holiday tomorrow was a big deal to the two men greeting them.

"So," Robert said, "Are we going to the Granger's now?"

There was a few other murmurs of agreement with the question. Mr. Dickenson smiled. "No, I don't think so, since your gifts are at my office. We'll stop by and pick them up. Then we'll head back to the Grangers, if you so wish." They nodded and set out. First, however, the two oldest men gave each other a sly smile. Those boys were in for quite a surprise.

xxxxxxxxxx

Hilary stared at Hiro. _How the fuck had she gotten into this one?_ It was only a petty argument. They had only disagreed about the way she had put together her beyblade... Then suddenly she's standing across the way from the boy, who held out his beyblade and launcher in the most menacing of ways.

"What? You survived two years in Biovolt Abbey and you're suddenly afraid to fight Jin of the Gale?"

Ah, she thought, he had a point there. He was not her friend Hiro, he was Jin of the Gale, the man who had tormented her team with his Metal Drigger. She could fight him, yet part of her was afraid of herself. She felt Tialga's approval of this action, and the protectiveness and control the bit beast possessed soothed her.

She threw back a piece of her bangs, smoothed out her shirt and drew out the brand new gun-launcher Mr. Dickenson had provided her with. She snapped her gum and smirked at him. "I'm not afraid of you, Jin," she said, in a snappy tone that he had never heard before. "I suppose I have time to finish you before the boys get in."

"Too bad their flight already arrived," he said placidly. "They'll see you beyblading."

"And they won't recognize me, so spare me the drama. Let's just get this over with." She placed a finger on her lips. "Besides, who says I won't destroy you before they get back?"

Jin seemed beside himself for a moment. "You know, I kind of like you better this way, Hilary. You can actually back yourself up."

She winked, thoroughly excited to do battle. "Yeah, yeah, shut up and launch."

"Alright," he said, calling over a B.B.A. uniform-wearing official. The man seemed surprised, but agreed to do the officiating.

The two smirked, the playful twinkle in their eyes showing their true passion for the sport.

"_Let it rip!_"

xxxxxxxxxx

The group entered the B.B.A. headquarters, only to find it void of all life. Mr. Dickenson looked troubled. "Where did everyone go?" He asked, to receive no answer.

"I'll call Hiro," Grandpa said. The only response to this was a slight stiffening of posture by Kai, who still loathed the older boy. A moment later, he hung up. "Well I'll be," he said, shaking his head.

"What?" Mr. Dickenson inquired. "What's going on here?"

Gramps smirked. "It seems Hiro got into a small argument with your newest beyblader," He paused. "They're in the main stadium, and I guess it's quite a-"

He was cut off by a large boom, and a vibrating rumble.

"I'll take it there's a big battle brewing, isn't there?"

"Oh yeah, T-Dawg, there's a big battle brewin'. We better get ourselves down there before those two homies finish and we miss the biggest battle of the year!"

The bladers all looked at each other. They seemed unsure, yet they followed the two men. Something was definitely up. Ray nudged Kai, who nodded to Robert. All three of them drew their beyblades, locking them simultaneously into their launchers. The others surprisingly followed suit, ready to stir up any trouble - or prevent it - as necessary.

Each Bladebreaker felt a sensation that had long ago been familiar. Something big, something amazing, something happy was about to happen. Ever since Hilary's disappearance, they were closer than before, but their edge was gone. There was no use for them to compete anymore, and that was surprisingly accepted. It was saddening, but no one questioned it.

As they approached the stadium, they heard cheering, chanting, and otherwise loud noises that a championship battle would warrant. It was just some ordinary battle. There was Jin of the Gale, Hiro's beyblading alter ego, sparring off with some girl. A very familiar girl.

They just didn't know it yet.

xxxxxxxxxx

Hilary turned around, just to see the door open. Her blade spun with such intensity, and she was really having fun. The battle had lasted far longer than expected.

"Now, now, focus on the battle. You're well aware of who just entered the stadium."

A brilliant smile blossomed upon her face. Tialga seemed to respond accordingly, the gears in the beyblade shifting to approve of her emotions. Apparently they had heard of their battle. Though she supposed that every single B.B.A. beyblader and staff member in town had gathered in that arena.

Hell, even Jazzman had jumped up onto the platform, ready to announce any crazy moves. She wasn't sure if he knew, if he did, he was good at covering his excitement. The adrenaline-addicted DJ seemed to flash her smiles at every turn, but had made no comment as to her name. They were never that tight, but the man seemed to adore her young charm.

Or what was left of it, she thought sassily, slamming into her opponent's beyblade.

"Come on, Hiro! You aren't going to lose to a girl are you?"

Tyson. That was Tyson she thought. She met Jin's gaze, only to see the same spark that was in hers. He was having a blast. "Metal Drigger! Attack!"

Hilary felt that one, for sure. She grunted in discomfort, then squared her shoulders, inhaling deeply. "Don't count me out just yet! Tialga!"

Out of the blue, Johnny threw forth his hand. It shook a bit as he pointed at the girl on the right side of the stadium. "That's her! That whore stole my bit beast!"

"Now, now," Hilary said gently, pulling something out of her pocket. She threw it at him, never once taking her eyes off the battle. "Sorry about all that crap. It's kinda hard trying to keep your ass alive," she said sarcastically. Her blade rushed his, the two repelling each other.

Johnny caught it in his hand. "What is thi- my bit beast!"

The beybladers who had just entered all gathered around, staring at the beast. The only exception was Kai, who gazed up at her. She was the girl from before? She looked different.

"What happened to you?" He asked her.

She failed to respond, allowing Mr. Dickenson to speak. "I suppose the history is due after the battle. Please, do continue."

"Right," Hilary said. "Tialga, take him down!"

Another fierce confrentation began. She laughed joyously as the two beyblades began to get caught in a fierce battle of blades. The tide seemed to turn a hundred times over before Hiro called out his bit beast to its true form. "Metal Drigger, metal sabre attack!"

"Evade!" She immediately felt exposed, though the attack had been dodged. Her hair fell loose as a result of the attack. Now longer, it fell to her mid-back. It was completely straight, and it was still close enough to her old pixie cut for recognition.

"Whoa," Tyson said.

Kai looked up. "Holy fucking-"

The crowd gathered began to pick up on what was occurring, as cheers became louder, and chants of 'Hilary, Hilary..." began to circulate. She felt even more adrenaline leak into her system, as if she were attached to an IV. Something awesome was about to happen, that was for sure.

Jin smirked at her, taking off the lower portion of his mask. "I suppose your friends are starting to see the resemblance." His eyebrows quirked up in amusement as her eyes widened.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Max blinked a few times, his eyes darting between her, Jin, the ever-silent Chief, and then his team mates.

"No way." Hilary decided to act upon Ray's statement.

"Yes way, Ray."

Her old team mates gasped.

"Show 'em what you've got, Home-Girl!"

Hilary smirked at Tyson's grandfather. She looked at her friends, friends that she last spent time with over two years ago. She truly missed them. How could she not have believed the feeling was mutual? She took a breath. Beyond that. They were still champions. Therefore, she was competition and she was going to have to impress them. Not like that would be hard.

However, she couldn't forget that Hiro was giving her a run for her money. "Metal Drigger..."

Everything seemed to fade out. She tuned out everything, her opponent, her friends, the chanting crowd. All her attention was given to her beyblade, which had begun to spin much faster. It was built for speed, endurance, and attack. Her ruby eyes focused straight ahead.

She was ready. "Tialga!" The snow leopard lowered herself into a prowling stance, ready to pounce. She noted that Metal Drigger did the same. "Oh, no, Hiro, do not tell me you are planning on copying my attack." He smirked and she knew he was guilty. "No chameleon attack is going to take down a real one."

"Seriously, guys," Daichi said, "That does kinda look like Hilary."

Kai looked down. Ray nudged him. "Dude, what's on your mind?"

The captain looked at Hilary, whose eyes were blazing in nothing but determination and pride. She was loving what she was doing. "How the _fuck_ could I not have seen it?"

"Uhh, you were pretty beat up when we met up with you. Besides, how long do you think Hilary has wanted to be the hero? She was so jealous that we got to have all the fun while she stayed on the sidelines. Maybe this will work out for the better."

In response to Daichi's comment, Tyson spoke. "Well, if my Grandpa just called her Home-Girl, she's Hilary."

"Right you are," Said Jin. "But first and foremost, she's going down."

Hilary smirked and her eyes danced. "I'd love to see you try."

Kai stared. That was a new one. Usually when she got competitive, she got goofy. Ray nudged his shoulder again. "Okay, that was kinda sexy, man, I don't know what you think," The tiger said.

"I think that you should focus on winning Mariah."

"Okay," Ray said. Obviously territories had already been marked in that area, but it was always fun to provoke Kai. Despite the loner's lack of sight in the area of feelings, Ray knew he had fallen hard, judging by the way Kai missed the girl like his life depended on her.

"Tialga, Ice Dance!"

The room became bitterly cold. The lights proceeded to dim, and the breath of those around her breathing became the foggy mist that clouded Hiro's vision. He called out to Drigger, but it was no use, since the creature lacked sight four feet from its face, where Tialga was crouched low still, waiting for the pounce. The beads of sweat that had once poured down the side of her face froze, cooling her off.

"What's going on?" Hiro asked. "What kind of attack is this?"

Laughter. "Well, Jin... Hiro, I'm sorry our battle has come to its final stage. It's been real."

"Now, now, don't count me out yet, Tachibana."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Hiro? You knew?"

"This is why I challenged her in the first place." Hilary smiled. "So you could see this."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks a million, but you're about to loose." She blew a kiss to _her_ boys, of whom could barely see her through the fog. "Finish this Tialga!"

Kai and his team mates watched as the snow leopard finished the metal-coated form of Drigger, knocking it swiftly from the arena, which had gained a coat of ice. The beast that remained squared up, turned to look himself and his team mates, then discintigrated. Hilary held out her hand as if she wasn't phased and the beyblade returned to it.

He was the first one at her side, launching himself up to the platform as people's applauding gave way to them returning to their jobs. "I fucking thought you were dead," he said to her.

She smiled and hugged him for all he was worth. "Nah. You think big, bad, scary Boris could kill me, much less any other asshole on the planet? C'mon, you did give us _some_ lifeskills Kai, don't sell yourself short." He held her out at arms' length, and saw many emotions running through his eyes. Had he learned to let more out? "And besides, you were the one to persuade me to return to the good side. I wouldn't until you said someone was looking for me."

Tyson stared at her. "You thought we wouldn't look for you?" Tears were filling up his eyes, making him look sincerely close to a puppy dog. "My God, Hilary, you have no idea how much we wanted for you to walk back through that door."

Max nodded, unable to speak through his tears. Hilary reached out, leaving Kai's embrace for a moment to embrace the youngest of the team, save Daichi, and the most emotional. Max clung to her like a child would its mother. After all, she had been the mother of the team, and the one that helped keep them together with her quirky ways.

When they parted, Daichi jumped onto her back. Surprisingly enough, she allowed the little monkey-boy to cling, feeling the salty tears that drenched her shirt's backside. However, she detached his arms from her neck and brought him around to the front of her, hugging him tightly. "I missed you, Old Lady," he said through tears.

She laughed gently. "I missed all of you," she responded. "I really did."

Mr. Dickenson and Grandpa Granger walked up the steps to the blading platform. "Hilary, that was excellent work."

She thanked him, receiving word from Tyson's granfather that she was '_a pretty kick-arse homie, yo_.'

Eventually, even the Majestics cleared out, leaving Tyson, Ray, Max, Kenny, Daichi, and Kai with their newly recovered Hilary. Kenny had done well enough to hold in his tears, but she noted that they were leaking from his eyes. To fix this, she gave him a tight hug. Daichi was the first to ask the question on everyone's minds.

"Hilary, we're all crying, so why aren't you?"

She smiled softly, her eyes dancing with all kinds of emotions. "I'm still not used to crying."

Kai took a ragged breath. She placed a hand over his. She knew that out of all of them, he felt the worst. He had seen her before, and never recognized her.

"That's not your fault, you know."

The captain stared at her. "And how isn't it?"

She smirked. "Well, my hair was all over-grown and that, and it was way too dark. Not to mention that evil-bitch-attitude-thing. I apologize for that as well."

He shook his head, but Tyson spoke. "God, Hil, don't apologize. You have no idea how happy we are to have you with us."

"As you have no idea how much I wished to see you again. Although, I did hate you for a while back in the abbey."

Max sighed. "That's 'cause we never looked there, isn't it?"

His inquiry hit home to the rest of them. Hilary tried to field this one as best as possible. "A little, and because I hated everything there. If Kai hadn't snapped me out of it, I wouldn't have launched my beyblade into the lights so he could get away."

"Thank you," Kai said softly.

Scooting toward him, she smirked. "Hey, now, stop acting so out of character, you're not the thank-you type."

"And you're not the evil-type."

She nodded. "And I'm glad that's not me anymore, though being a bad-ass is fun."

Kai made a sound that could be described as the beginnings of a laugh. The rest of the boys broke out into a series of smiles. Meanwhile, Hilary decided that it was just too warm in that room, and wearing the white t-shirt that had been stained by tears was not exactly in her preferences. Therefore, she took that shirt off, leaving her in a white tube top that revealed both her tattoo and the top of what were scars on her back. Of course, in the front, they could see the piercing of her navel, and a pinky colored line that was beginning to fade.

She sat back down in the circle they had created, between Kai and Ray, both of whom were close enough together for her to be nearly on top of them. She noted Kai's possessiveness of her, and decided it was alright. Kai immediately growled however, when he saw her stomach.

"What's wrong, Kai?" Kenny asked, fearfully.

"Yeah, man, what was with the growling?"

Kai removed Hilary's hand from over her stomach. She looked up at him as he traced the line with the tips of his calloused hand. "Okay, okay, It's going away Kai, stop! That tickles." He removed his hand from her stomach. "No seriously," she said, when her laughter had subsided. "It's okay."

"What is that from anyway?"

"Kai and Dranzer's way of giving you a swift kick in the ass." Kai frowned. "Hey! Stop it." His head tilted her direction. "I'm way too happy to be back, and Christmas is tomorrow! Get happy, Sourpuss!"

"Yeah, Sourpuss!" Tyson grinned sheepishly. "Wow, haven't used that one in a while."

Hilary smiled at them and stood up. "Yeah, well, start." Looking around, she headed, in a jog, to the doorway. "Come on, guys! I have something to show you!"

They stood up, one after one, following her. Ray and Kai stayed behind, however, deciding to take the back way to her destination: Dickenson's office.

"Dude," Ray said simply. "Mariah or not, she's looking good."

"She suffered like that for us, though, and we didn't fucking find her."

"Yeah, well-"

A beyblade had been launched as an interruption, and obviously it worked. Hilary stood there in the doorway from which she had just left. "Ray, you go on. I need to talk to Kai, if that's alright."

Ray nodded. "I'll meet you up in Dickenson's office."

"Okay," she said, as he left the room. There was no doubt in her mind that he would stick around for a while and eavesdrop. This left her alone with Kai in the large stadium. "How've you been?" she asked him, sitting down beside him on the edge of the platform.

He shrugged. "Why didn't you tell me who you were? We could've taken you-"

"I knew you would. I was thinking about it." He gazed at her intently as her ruby eyes screamed of great sadness and pain. "But I had hurt so many people, and taken so many bit beasts. Kai, I couldn't have gone with you until I confronted what I had done and Boris as well."

"That was the bag on your back."

She nodded.

"He beat you, didn't he?"

Smiling sadly, she nodded. "In the beginning, a lot. Once I started to obey, he just eyed me like a trophy won. He liked my edge."

"Can I see?"

"Yeah."

Although the circumstances were obviously strange, she knew damn well that Kai was no pervert. Therefore, when she took off that tube top, leaving her in only a white strapless bra, she felt no shame, and no sense of prostitiution on her part. He took her by the wrist and pulled her close. She took the hint and sat down in his lap. He traced some of them with his fingers, others he merely gazed at.

"Your tattoo is beautiful," he said gently, tracing it with his fingers.

"Thanks."

She felt her heartbeat increasing. This was new. To go from no feelings to such strong ones seemed so strange to her. And yet, when she felt Kai's lips on the worst scar she possessed, a whip marking from a scorpion(has a spike on the end of it), she sighed in pure bliss. He surprisingly(or not surprisingly if you're a KaiHil fan and avid fanfic reader), refused to stop there, leaving a small trail of kisses leading upward to her shoulder.

This, she realized was a lot of the spark she was missing. When she beybladed, she felt whole. She had her team back, yeah, and that was great. But she was also being kissed rather heatedly by Kai Hiwatari, and that warranted a million red flags. However, she was used to living dangerously, so this was one risk worth taking.

As he was about to lean forward over her shoulder to kiss her collarbone, she slid down in his lap, getting underneath his head to allow their lips to meet. He moaned, which surprisingly turned her on.

A battle of tongues ensued, as well as hands. When air was finally needed, she pushed her head into the cook of his neck, breathing deeply. "That," she said breathlessly.

"Wow."

"Whoa, hold up," Hilary said, eyeing him suspiciously. A playful look was set upon her features. "You were not just impressed."

He smirked. "Not really," he said, in an amused tone. "Turned on, now maybe."

She batted him one in the arm. "Perhaps that's because I'm in only a bra."

"No, you were beautiful without being that being the only thing you were in." She threw her tube top back on, just in case someone came looking.

"Okay, compliments, there's a new one... where's the Kai I remember?"

He kissed her. Screw cloud nine, that boy kissed like the devil, and sadly enough he was her heaven.

"Nevermind. You can stay."

He took her hand. "We should probably go before they send someone."

"Yeah." She allowed him to lead her, staying very close to him throughout their walk to the elevator. "Kai?"

He gazed at her intently, his amethyst-grey orbs soft, as they always were when he looked at her. This was nothing new. It was oddly familiar and strangely comforting. "Hn?"

"Why'd you kiss me?"

"Because I missed you." He paused, looking at the elevator. "And because you're you."

She smiled. "Good."

He proceeded to whisper something beneath his breath, and she smirked at him.

"I can speak Russian, Kai," she whispered seductively. He stared at her as if a deer caught in headlights. "I was there for two years." Kai looked away from her until he felt something, or rather, someone lean up against him. "But I love you too," she said audibly.

He held her as tightly as possible for the rest of that elevator ride, knowing damn well why she said it. You always loved that person, that one who seemed to break that trance of darkeness. For that reason, his team had become his family, and Hilary, being who she was, seemed to be tolerable all the time. She had never known his situation until two years of their friendship had come and gone, and yet she seemed to understand. He never thought he'd have to do the same for her, but he was glad he was the one to do so when it came down to it.

The elevator came to a stop on the twenty-eigth floor, only to have four beybladers launch themselves at her, saying their thanks with the utmost sincerity they could muster. Kai looked at them blankly.

"You're welcome guys," she said with a small giggle. "Now c'mon, I have to go show Kai his."

Their team smiled knowingly, and although Daichi was about to make a comment, they planned to see how far it would go. How long would Hilary and Kai hold hands? Ray smirked at Max and Tyson. They nodded, smiles adorning their excitedly joyful expressions.

They saw him look at the beyblade in the next room over, thank her, and then kiss her?! Yeah, that too.

"What the _hell_ did we just miss?" Tyson asked. "I was going to rag on you for holding hands. I guess we could rag on you for that too."

"Shut up, you dolt," she said, though it was purely joking. He gave her a noogie, though Kai's disapproving look screamed of a very long practice after the holidays were over. "Now then, I gave you all my gift, but..."

"Oh God," Daichi said, flustered. "There's strings attached, aren't there?"

She laughed, nodding. "You keep them on one condition." She nodded to Dickenson.

"World Championship preliminaries start in two months."

"We'll be there," the five beybladers said, no questions asked.

There was a small noise made from the corner of the room. Johnny smirked, holding a menacing pose. "You owe me a rematch, Tachibana."

She nodded. "I know."

"You'll get it," Ray said, taking the liberty, "If you make it far enough in the finals to take on our team."

"Okay, there's my Christmas gift," Hilary said, throwing her hands up in the air. Apparently the trip from Hell to Heaven was much more fun than she had initially thought.

xxxxxxxxxx

_fin._

Oh my God. That was long. I wrote it in two days, since I restarted it. It did _not_ turn out as I had thought. I think it was better, actually(... erm, possibly... no? okay, you're right). Apparently I'm a motivated writer when angry. Now, I can't garauntee that was wonderful, as a matter of fact, I know it isn't. But that's alright, a review would be nice. Maybe that'll motivate me to update some other fics or at least make some more one-shots.

Thanks for reading, and PUH-LEASE review. Flames(though I don't typically get any for a beyblade fic) will be used to burn Kai's shirt so we can stare at his sexy body. If I get more than one, Jess will get to see the same thing for Tala.

I think I just encouraged flames. Ah well. Responses, critiques, something, anything is accepted thankfully!

Until next time, this is Distant Storm signing off!

_**Finished: 17 July 2007; 8:37am EDT**_


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